Cables for transmissible signals, such as power or data, provide for transmission of the transmissible signals from a source to a destination. Such cables have a variety of applications, and are well-suited for long or short distance transmission between resources or devices.
A signal travelling along an electrical transmission line will be partly, or wholly, reflected back in the opposite direction when the travelling signal encounters a discontinuity in the transmission parameters of the line. Reflections can occur, for instance, when a transmission line has failed, or is about to fail. The line reflections cause several undesirable effects, as the originating signal combines with the reflected signal. The resulting signal can cause intermittent failures, signal degradation, and even damage to connected devices on the affected node. Sensitive electronics may register the undesirable effects as failures of components when the reflections are the true cause.
When transmission line reflections occur, a device, application, or electrical node may be taken offline or out of service for diagnostics and repair.